Behind The Label: Les Athlètes du Vin & Michel Tolmer

BEHIND THE LABEL

Les Athlètes du Vin | Vini Be Good | Artist: Michel Tolmer

With its distinctive "sporty" labels, Les Athlètes du Vin is developing quite a cult following. The wines are from a négociant project made by a group of friends in the Loire Valley known as 'Vini Be Good.' When Francis del Tedesco, a founding partner, was asked where the idea came from, he said he was just looking out the window and saw the gym across from his office. He instantly thought of 'Les Athlètes du Vin' and ran with it (pun intended). The idea being winemaking (and drinking wine) is a kind of sport. "Basically, we joked around so much with the idea, and because of that, we knew that the name was good," said Francis.

MICHEL TOLMER

Michel Tolmer is a French artist, illustrator, and cartoonist who is the unofficial star artist of the French natural wine movement. His work is easily recognisable and you’ll often see copy cat illustrations of his art in the wine marketing world, but there's nothing more complimentary than a real deal Michel Tolmer wine label collaboration.

The partners had met Michel Tolmer at previous wine fairs and liked his style (but, of course). They approached him with their ideas and ethos on winemaking, and we're guessing some bottles from Vini Be Good for good measure, and long story short - Michel agreed to design the labels.

How do they decide which sport to feature?

For the first label (Sauvignon), Michel drew someone jumping rope – with the ends of the ropes as bottles of wine. For all the labels hereafter, winemakers are asked about their favourite sport, and Michel takes it from there, creating ironical and fantastical illustrations in a way only he can do.

Voilà - l’histoire des Athlètes du Vin’s labels!

Les Athlètes du Vin at Wild Wines

Wild Wines carry Les Athlètes du Vin Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Pineau d' Aunis. We also have some exciting news! Because these have gone down such a treat, we will soon have their Gamay and Groulleau in stock!

Please let us know if you would like to try a taste.

The 1-Litre Bottle Movement

"The times they are a-changin'"!

The 1-litre bottle represents a current movement in the traditional wine industry driven by a new generation seeking options for sustainability in winemaking. As winemakers become increasingly transparent in all aspects of the trade, alternative packaging helps to address their environmental impact. Along with lighter glass bottles, bag-in-boxes, and canned wine, the 1-litre bottle is fueled by an environmental consciousness while also addressing practicality, value and approachability.

Where did the 1-litre bottle get its start?

There are differing opinions on the 1-litre bottle's birth. Still, we find most writings on the subject agree the inspiration harkens back to a time when people in the French countryside brought a jug of wine to the table as an everyday affair. Austria brought it to the fore in the early 2000s with organically grown ready-to-drink Grüner. In 2010, natural wine importers Selection Massale (not to be confused by the wine terminology 'selection massale') began a litre project of ready-to-drink affordable natural wines with a nod to sustainability. The trend's roots really take off from here. Fast forward to today, and it looks like 1-litre bottles are here to stay for a variety of reasons.

1-litre bottles are sociable! It's sizable enough for solo with a few glasses left over and absolute perfection when sharing with friends over dinner.

A 1-litre bottle hits a sweet spot between a standard bottle of wine and a magnum. There are 7 glasses of wine in a 1-litre bottle, 5 in a standard bottle and 10 in a Magnum.

Wild Wines is introducing SFERA to Ireland. Sfera is a 1-litre bottle project that spans from the Alps to the Mediterranean and perfectly fits into our ethos of sustainability. Sfera is a collaboration with small certified-organic farmers to bring bottle litres to the masses in limited runs.

Wild Wines currently has four 1-litre bottles available from SFERA.

Sfera Rosato - Winemaker: Crotin. Vineyard: Cocconato. Varietal: 100% Nebbiolo.

Sfera Bianco - Winemaker: I Clivi. Vineyard: Galea. Varietals: 100% Ribolla Gialla.

Sfera Rosso - Winemaker: Cossentino. Vineyard: Partinico. Varietals: Nero d’Avola, Perricone and Cataratto.

Sfera Rosso - Winemaker: Frecciarossa. Vineyard: various plots in the Casteggio commune. Varietals: Uva Rara (30%), Barbera (30%), Croatina (10%), Pinot Nero(10%), Riesling (15%).

What is “Sustainably Produced” Wine?

Welcome to Wild Wines first blog post!

You're visiting this page because you love good wine and care about where and how it is made. You're environmentally conscious, and what is happening with climate change has strengthened your commitment to seeking sustainably produced goods. We share this ethos with you, as do our incredible farmers and winemakers.

Respecting Nature | Supporting Integrity

Wild Wines is committed to sourcing from winemakers who respect nature to make honest wines. They take the extra steps, taking significant risks, to choose minimal intervention in their approach to sustainably producing wines.

So, what is "sustainably produced" wine?

Are these just trendy marketing buzzwords? The short answer is: No. (After all, this is what puts the wild in Wild Wines)! A sustainable winery keeps the entire production environmentally friendly — everything from vineyard biodiversity to packaging, waste management and general operations.

What makes a wine organic?

Organic wines are very simply wines made from organically grown grapes. For grapes to be organic, a winemaker must work sustainability in the vineyard and the cellar. Now, organic doesn't mean any additives. Some additives, including yeast, animal enzymes, and egg whites, get the okay in organic wines. So confusingly, organic doesn't necessarily mean a wine is vegan, but it is made without harsh chemicals.

Organic wines can be certified in some countries, but sustainable farming rules are not always cut and dried. It is up to the winemaker to do their best to follow guidelines, and purveyors like us do the legwork to ensure the wine we sell is directly sourced from winemakers truly walking the sustainability walk.

Wild Winemakers make wines in tandem with nature without using artificial chemicals. One needs only to walk the vines to see the difference. In most cases, it can starkly contrast the overly manicured rows of its neighbour's vineyard if they use conventional methods of synthetic fertilisers and spraying. In an organic vineyard, you find rich biodiversity among the vines — plants, flowers, bees and butterflies and sometimes geese or lambs let loose to eat bugs or worms. Wild Wines are, in every sense of the word, terroir-driven wines.

The discussion of sustainable viticulture can lead down a rabbit hole of subjects, from what constitutes a low-sulphite wine to what the moon has to do with biodynamic winemaking principles. These are all topics we can't wait to uncover for you in the future of the Wild Wines Blog. The important takeaway in our first post is the assurance that the wine you are drinking from us is directly from winemakers who Respect Nature and Support Integrity.

Pictured: Vina Echeverria. The Echeverria family are committed to social responsibility. They have been awarded sustainable status by the Wines of Chile Organization, working with a model of micro viticulture; each plot, no more than half a hectare, is identified according to its terroir and micro-climate and planted accordingly.

Note: In the Wild Wines brochure, we let you know if each wine is: Organic (certified or converting to certified), Biodynamic (certified or converting to certified), Unfiltered, Low S02, Vegan or hand-harvested.